Josh Taylor vs. Teofimo Lopez result: Lopez takes WBO junior welterweight title with dominant decision

After the final bell sounded in his last fight against Sandor Martin, a discouraged Teofimo Lopez turned to his corner after an underwhelming performance and asked if he still had "it."

Six months later, Lopez had the WBO and The Ring junior welterweight titles after dominating former undisputed champion Josh Taylor in a fight where Lopez was considered the underdog.

The answer to the question was a resounding "yes," because Lopez definitely still has it.

In front of a sold-out crowd at The Hulu Theater in New York's Madison Square Garden, Lopez dismantled, befuddled and dominated Taylor en route to the win. Although two of the scorecards had the fight 115-113, it appeared that the former unified lightweight champion dominated with a scintillating combination of speed, timing and catlike reflexes. 

There were questions about whether Lopez (19-1, 13 KOs) was a one-hit wonder following his stunning decision victory over Vasiliy Lomachenko in 2020. He followed that victory with a stunning loss to George Kambosos and then turned in a pair of uninspired performances against Pedro Campa and Martin. Some believed that he was affected by his life outside the ring as his behavior in interviews teetered on bizarre. 

But in his sanctuary inside the squared circle, Lopez was absolutely stellar this night as he routinely slammed right hands and uppercuts into Taylor. After a tedious first round, Lopez began to take control by timing Taylor's advances and picking him off with right hands whenever he drew close. Taylor attempted to impose his size on Lopez, but the 25-year-old routinely skated away and avoided damage with slick upper-body movement. 

With the fight slowly getting away from Taylor, Lopez sensed his opponent's frustration and put a stamp on his performance by landing a leaping left hand in the eighth round that landed flush. From that point, Taylor was discouraged and taken completely out of the fight. 

Even with the fight seemingly in control, Lopez refused to take the final round off and throttled his Scottish opponent with a bevy of uppercuts, body shots and thudding combinations that nearly ended the fight. 

It turns out that he needed that final round to become a two-division world champion. 

"Do I still have it?" Lopez asked with a smile. 

Absolutely. There appears to be a new king of the 140-pound weight class who has plenty of options moving forward. Regis Prograis, Ryan Garcia, Rolly Romero and current undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney are all options for "The Takeover."

The Sporting News provided updates and highlights from the card. Here's how it all went down.

Josh Taylor vs. Teofimo Lopez live results, updates

Teofimo Lopez takes apart Josh Taylor with dominant unanimous decision

Scores: 115-113, 115-113, 117-111

Round 12: What is Josh Taylor going to do? He rumbles forward and applies pressure. Lopez is calm in the pocket and avoids taking damage. Still jab stops Taylor from coming forward. Counter left hurts Taylor and sends him stumbling backward. Taylor walks into a right hand and follows with a three-punch combination that ends with a vicious body shot. Lopez is looking for the knockout. This is total domination from Lopez. Lopez stabs Taylor with a body shot and he's clobbering Taylor all over the ring. Big right hand from Lopez has Taylor badly hurt with 10 seconds left. What a performance! 

SN Unofficial Scorecard: 10-9, Lopez (118-110, Lopez)

Round 11: We're in the championship rounds and Taylor needs a knockout. Taylor fighting with hints of desperation because he realizes he's down and walks into a right hand. Taylor backs Lopez into the ropes and finds nothing. Short chopping right from Lopez comes down during an exchange. Huge uppercut from Lopez catches Taylor flush and a hard right hand to the body. This is terribly one-sided. Right hand lands for Lopez and is followed by an uppercut and a body assault.  

SN Unofficial Scorecard: 10-9, Lopez (108-101, Lopez)

Round 10: Lopez is getting close to breaking Taylor. A right hand cracks Taylor. Taylor searches for answers but Lopez keeps changing the questions. Short right from Lopez lands again as Taylor comes forward recklessly. Straight right from Lopez after Taylor lands a body shot. Taylor tries to smother Lopez but is struggling to find his target. Taylor has a better round but he's still losing. 

SN Unofficial Scorecard: 10-9, Lopez (98-92, Lopez)

Round 9: Taylor needs to do something to change this fight because it is getting away from him. Right uppercut lands for Lopez and freezes Taylor. Counter right from Lopez lands and an uppercut hurts Taylor. Here comes Lopez. Taylor looks shook. He can't find anything. Right hand lands for Taylor. Straight right lands for Lopez and a short right buckles Taylor's legs. Big combination sends Taylor into the ropes. He's running the score up. 

SN Unofficial Scorecard: 10-9, Lopez (88-83, Lopez)

Round 8: Big left hand to open the round for Taylor. Right hand lands for Lopez and they are landing more frequently. Taylor being too careful trying to pick his spots and getting outworked. Body shot from Taylor lands on Lopez but eats a counter right hand. Lopez showboating again but he needs to land. Right to the body from Lopez. Hard left uppercut follows. Leaping left hand from Lopez cracks Taylor hard. This is becoming Lopez's fight. 

SN Unofficial Scorecard: 10-9, Lopez (78-74, Lopez)

Round 7: Leaping left hook lands for Lopez. Left to the body from Taylor. Lopez sneaks a left to the body as Taylor comes inside. Taylor can't seem to get off as Lopez lands a left and a right that buzzes Taylor. Taylor lands a right hand but Lopez is unbothered. Taylor backs Lopez into the ropes and Lopez fires a right hand. They go toe to toe to end the round but Lopez is brimming with confidence. 

SN Unofficial Scorecard: 10-9, Lopez (68-65, Lopez)

Round 6: Lopez goes to the body more to start the round. His timing and reflexes are sharp. They exchange jabs but Taylor isn't quite finding his spots as Lopez gives chase. Left hand over the top lands for Lopez but a punch strays low. Straight right for Lopez lands. Big right hook lands and moves Taylor. Lopez starts to showboat and lands a combination. 

SN Unofficial Scorecard: 10-9, Lopez (58-56, Lopez)

Round 5: Taylor slams a pair of left hands into Lopez's face. Right hand from Lopez and he follows it with an uppercut. Left to the body from Lopez and Taylor responds with a hard left hand upstairs. Hard lead straight right from Lopez lands flush. Taylor flicks the jab but Lopez lands hard to the body and another right hand up top to close the round. 

SN Unofficial Scorecard: 10-9, Lopez (48-47, Lopez)

Round 4: Big left hand from Taylor lands flush. Lopez takes it well. Lopez trying to time Taylor coming in but Taylor is feinting to get him off balance. Lopez not throwing a lot of punches. Big jab from Taylor snaps Lopez's head back. Lopez's inactivity might cost him.  

SN Unofficial Scorecard: 10-9, Taylor (38-38)

Round 3: Taylor pushes Lopez down and then punches him while he's seated on the ropes. Taylor gets a warning. Lopez slips throwing an uppercut. Lopez lands a left hook and a counter left. He's moving forward on Taylor again. Taylor trying to find an opening and is aggressive. Neither did much in this round. 

SN Unofficial Scorecard: 10-9, Lopez (29-28, Lopez)

Round 2: Lopez starts by pressing forward. Taylor continues to go to the body with the jab. Hard jab by Lopez. Lopez misses a wide right hook but catches Taylor coming in with a right hand. Lopez sneaks in an uppercut. Good exchange and Lopez seems to get the better of that one. Much better round for Lopez as he is trying to time Taylor. 

SN Unofficial Scorecard: 10-9, Lopez (19-19)

Round 1: Both start by finding their range with the jab. Taylor looks a lot bigger than Lopez. Taylor sneaks in a right hand. Taylor drills Lopez to the body with a trio of right hands and they exchange. Taylor gets the better of the exchange but Lopez responds with a left hand. Big overhand left by Lopez. Taylor continues to go to the body effectively as the round comes to a close. 

SN Unofficial Scorecard: 10-9, Taylor 

10:54 p.m. ET: We're about eight minutes away from Taylor and Lopez making their walks to the ring. We're going to round-by-round scoring from this point on.

Xander Zayas drops, dominates Rondal Cruz for unanimous decision win

Scores: 80-71, 80-71, 80-71

10:40 p.m. ET: Well, Cruz managed to stay on his feet but was totally dominated by Zayas. The difference in punches landed was inexplicably wide. This should be a shutout on the scorecards.

10:32 p.m. ET: After six rounds, Zayas is firmly in control of this fight. But what's standing out is how he has improved his offense. There is more variety in his output as he mixes up his body and head attacks while using feints to create openings. But Cruz is proving to be tough as nails and refuses to go away. With two rounds left, can Zayas crack the code?

10:12 p.m. ET: It only took 30 seconds for Zayas to score the first knockdown of the fight. The 20-year-old slipped a jab and landed a counter right hand that caught Cruz on the chin and sent him to the canvas. Cruz has never been stopped in his career but will Zayas be the first to get the job done?

10:05 p.m. ET: All right, we're finally live as Xander Zayas represents on the weekend of the Puerto Rican Day Parade with a showdown against Rondal Cruz. 

9:45 p.m. ET: Unfortunately, we have a lot of time to kill because Jamaine Ortiz couldn't make the contracted weight for his fight against Humberto Galindo and the bout was scratched. We'll be kicking off with Xander Zayas vs. Rondal Cruz at the top of the hour. 

9 p.m. ET: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News' live coverage of Josh Taylor vs. Teofimo Lopez, the culmination of a feud that has caught fire after a peculiar set of interviews and press conference from the American starlet. 

Xander Zayas and Ronald Cruz will get the main card portion underway in an hour, with the main event to come about an hour after that. 

When is Josh Taylor vs. Teofimo Lopez?

Taylor vs. Lopez is scheduled for Saturday, June 10. The main card starts at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT, 3 a.m. BST, noon AEST).

Both fighters should make their way to the ring around 11:15 p.m. ET (8:15 p.m. PT, 4:15 a.m. BST, 1:15 p.m. AEST, depending on how long the undercard fights last. 

MORE: Can Teofimo Lopez return to form against Josh Taylor?

How to watch Josh Taylor vs. Teofimo Lopez

Josh Taylor vs. Teofimo Lopez price: How much does the fight cost? 

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WATCH: Josh Taylor vs. Teofimo Lopez, exclusively on ESPN+ 

Josh Taylor vs. Teofimo Lopez results

Main card

• Teofimo Lopez def. Josh Taylor via unanimous decision (115-113, 115-113, 117-111) for the WBO and Ring super lightweight titles.
• Xander Zayas def. Ronald Cruz via unanimous decision (80-71, 80-71, 80-71).

Prelims

• Robson Conceicao vs. Nicolas Polanco ends in no-decision (accidental head-butt).
• Omar Rosario def. Jan Carlos Rivera via unanimous decision (77-75, 77-75, 77-75).
• Bruce Carrington def. Luis Porozo via 8th-round TKO (2:17).